After becoming an Australian citizen I left
Melbourne on the 28th October and traveled to Vancouver (via
Sydney, San Fransisco and Seattle) with over 24 hours of flying and
airport time all together!
Next, I spent a few days catching up with friends in
Vancouver, with a low key first couple of days relaxing and doing almost nothing. Over the weekend as I got my mojo back, I enjoyed a beautiful sunny day strolling around Stanley Park after 2 solid days of Vancouver rain, ate the yummy sushi I remember so well here and enjoyed hearing the Canadian accent on all sides as I walked around the city, also remembering how friendly Canadian people are in general.
As the weekend approached, Emina & I had a crazy night of dancing at Celebrities in downtown Vancouver as she has a friend who is a door man there and put us on the guest list. There was a Medieval theme for Halloween and the energy levels were really high & positive with a feeling of almost a mini Mardi Gras.. we had such a good time dancing with everyone around us to great music, which seemed to bring out the most wicked dance moves behind all the spiffy costumes & masks! My outfit was a snake charmer with a gold headress & fishnet tights while Emina was a Goddess with a snake that slithered creepily convincintly while draped around her neck.
Even outside on the streets of Vancouver on our way to Celebrities, we were surprised that probably 90% of people on the streets were in costumes, many of them very elaborate! It was such an awesome energy and so much fun to be swept up in as it's hard for anyone to act too serious while dressed up in costumes such as as a donut for example;). As much as I love Melbourne, it has nothing on Vancouver's Halloween celebrations as it's just in the baby steps of being celebrated at all in Australia.
To balance out all of the good times on Saturday night, we had deliciously strong Turkish coffee late Sunday morning & then went hiking up Cypress Mountain, which is a local ski area in the North Shore mountains of Vancouver, closer to the city than Whistler. Here we enjoyed the fresh air, more sunshine and beautiful views of Vancouver. We finished with a healthy and delicious vegetarian meal & Chai tea at Naam on 4th Avenue to help us detoxify from the assortment of triple cocktails being served in sand-castle-building style buckets the night before!!
On Sunday evening, I rode a Greyhound bus for 8 hours
(including stops) to my parents' house in 100 Mile House arriving at 4:30 in the morning! They live on Horse Lake, which is near 100 Mile in the Interior of British Columbia (North East of Vancouver
towards Alberta). The overnight bus ride was *interesting* but having a big night on Saturday helped me to enjoy it more as I was able to doze off with splayed manta ray style limbs that protected the extra seat next to me each time the bus stopped to pick up extra passengers. I'm really enjoying being here at my parents place as they are great and also live in such a serene, peaceful setting that is absolutely silent, which I can really appreciate as a precursor to the often busy and always somewhat cautious travels through Central & South America I am about to have.
My next stop will be in Victoria on Vancouver Island, to catch up with my good friends & former housemates Andy
& Ginnie.
On the 10th of November, I'll be flying to
Denver, Colorado to spend some time with my grandmother and other
family for a week before flying to Cancun, Mexico on a one way ticket.
I'm excited for some warmth & sunshine and to beginning my travels first through Southern Mexico and Belize, followed by Guatemala where I
will study Spanish to prepare for travels all the way through South America. My plans at this stage are flexible although eventually I'd like to end up in Argentina
on the Southern tip of South America. If all goes well, flying
back to Melbourne from Buenos Aires sometime in the next few months,
depending how my journey progresses. I'll keep you posted mi amigos/amigas... hasta luego :)
